Yacht Club Celebrates 100 Years of History

By Tien-Shun Lee | Staff Writer

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Boat owners from Northport and surrounding areas celebrated Water Carnival Day in 1932 on the deck of their private club. Members watched motor boat and regatta races, and danced to the tunes of brassy big bands, broadcast from Manhattan via radio The Northport Yacht Club was formed in 1899, the same year a competing group, the Independent Yacht Club, began operating. In 1910, the Independent Yacht Club built a columned building along Woodbine Avenue. By 1926, it had absorbed the Northport Yacht Club and affixed that name to the structure.

During a 1944 hurricane, the four Grecian columns and a dock were washed away, according to Bruce G. Adams, a club spokesman. The building was later moved back 200 feet and became a nondescript apartment building. During World War II, the activities of the Northport Yacht Club faded. In 1944 and 1945, a new club, the Edgewater Yacht Club, was formed, and in 1946, the club constructed a stucco and clapboard building along Bluff Point Road.

The Edgewater club took over the Northport Yacht Club name in 1952. The new club building was remodeled in the mid-1960s, and another renovation was done in the mid-1970s. The building is in the midst of another remodeling. The centennial of the club is being celebrated throughout the year. It will also be the subject of an exhibit running from Sept. 12 to Oct. 17 at the Northport Historical Society and Museum.